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The Roses fired canisters of wizard fire that exploded into wildfires Squads of sorcerers were kept busy all day and night, putting out blazes, else the toould have long since burned to the ground
But soemynd bana and worse when approached by the fire teams Those eren’t killed were disabled for days And they couldn’t afford the loss of a single hand
Ellen preferred to face her eneround This faceless assault fro She took a deep breath and forced herself to look across the black abyss of no-htthe next onslaught It was her third night in a row on the perih to make mistakes But the work she and Jack did on the wall kept the bombardment sohtened--a wizard gathering power, preparing to fire Ellen fished a throwing star fro off into the dark, then rolled sideways, banging her elbow into the wall as a blast of fire came toward her
Across the way, someone screa down into the darkness to be extinguished at the base of the wall
"Catch a falling star," Ellenfor another target
Off to her left, an enornified that Seph was at work Several tiht, he’d spun past her, the hot ripple ofhi the wizard wall clean of bo cover for the warrior patrols between the walls Blasting ruinous holes in the wizard wall opposite
Ellen and Jack and Iris Bolingame and some of the other wizards helped, but Ellen had to admit that so far it was Seph that kept the Roses at bay They’d soon be forced toto reseht, peering through the e distance to the base of the wall They’d be ducks on a pond
Why don’t they try to breach the walls? she thought We’re totally outnu could this bo would the Anaweir stay on the Sisters before the Roses becaht sound behind her caused her to swivel, gripping the hilt of her knife
"Whoa Don’t stab the arb He shoved a parcel into her hands "More stars" And another "Midnight snack"
The Weir had laid a scaffolding over their wall on the sanctuary side, to allow the Anaweir to navigate it The wall itself was still invisible to the stars and poured them into her pouch "Tell Mercedes thanks" And turned back to her work She wouldn’t let another one past her, not if she could help it
Fitch put his hand on her arot the wall, so take ten to eat"
Ellen looked down the curtain wall to where Jack must be She reat to have him next to her, but this way, if her position was hit, only one of the alwaysposition and unwrapped her dinner, resting it on her knees
Fitch held out a water bottle filled with green liquid
"What’s this?" she asked suspiciously, turning it in her hand
"Some kind of powerade potion Mercedes whipped up"
"No dope," Ellen said, trying to hand the bottle back to Fitch
"I don’t think it’s dope, exactly," Fitch said, with a what-do-I-know shrug "Just like--you know--an energy drink"
"Hmpf" She took an experimental sip And then another It tasted like fresh air in some unsullied part of the world
She drained half the bottle, set it down, and bit into her sandwich
Fitch still hung on the scaffolding and pulled out a digital caraphs of Ellen
"You’re photographingat hi What for?"
"So out at the fires beyond the walls, his face soleht "Like there was this photographer during the Civil War Mathew Brady He was assigned by the US government to document the war"
"Fitch, you are such a nerd"
He said nothing
She finished the sandwich and wiped herto lose, don’t you?"
"What makes you say that?" he said